NG EVANGELION live action ?

[Timstuff]

Go here and look for yourself.

http://eva.trivialbeing.net/images.php

 

[TheVileOne]

FYI, those are more than 2 years old.

It feels like there hasn't been much movement on the project since they released these.

 

[Timstuff]

Yeah, progress has been moving at a snail's pace thus far. I really want to hear some real news on this project, not just "we're still gonna do it".

 

[Movies205]

Well they said **** the fans with LXG and all they got was a big budget bomb.

I still don't see how you can make an EVA movie that audiences have to like and go see without dumbing it down and giving it a more comprehensible ending.

Well LXG was a crappy movie. That and I said stay faithful, but fans ***** and moan about pretty much everything to the point where you need to just say "**** it", just make a movie that's not pissing on the original source material ala LXG but not to the extent that just becomes a mess.

 

[Timstuff]

In the transition from Japanese Anime to big-budget American movie, obviousely there's a lot that's going to have to be altered for American audiences to not get confused. But the big question is, are the things that will likely get changed the things that essentially make Evangelion enjoyable in the first place? I don't know, it all depends on what they're changing.

In American movies, we prefer stories that are easily acsessable, and if you're a casual viewer you'll have no problem understanding it, but on further inspection, fans can find a lot of depth and meaning. A prime example would be the Lord of the Rings series, particularly the books). You don't have to read into the deeper meaning or details to "get" that Frodo leaves the shire, and must throw the ring into mount doom while it tries to tempt, corrupt, and torment him. But if you look deeper into it, you find more meaning.

The problem with Evangelion is that the plot is like an onion - to actually "get it", you have to tear through and analyze many layers, and by the time you've reached the core, most people will already be crying from the effort. If you sat down average joe and had him watch all of the show and EoE, and asked him "OK, what was the basic story?" he'd probably reach for a bottle of tylenol. To even understand the narrative of the series, you need to seep yourself in all thing Evangelion, and even then you're still likely to be left puzzled.

It's inevitable that the movie will be "dumbed down", but that's not necessarily a bad thing depending on how much they dumb it down by, and what they're dumbing down. Really, the core of Evangelion to me is angst. It's the ultimate emo story, as in real emo, not guyshadow and wrist cutting. The emphasis of the movie will likely be on that Shinji is a very troubled kid who lost his mother and was rejected by his father, and is now expected to take on the colossal task of protecting the world during the most akward period of his emotional, mental, and physical developement (in this way, Spider-Man is very much real emo, as well), and trying to find his self worth through others rather than himself.

The exact details of the circumstances around him, I think are fair game for some slight alterations so as not to loose audiences. An example of how things might change would be say, they make the Angels be more or less depicted as some sort of force of nature that's awakened when SEELE starts playing god by trying to initiate instrumentality, which is why they give them their moniker (a sort of inside-joke they have that they're being punished by God for their plans), and so the human/angel hybrid Evangelions are created to fend them off while they work their agenda. That example would obviousely be quite a bit different from the Anime, but something like that would be an "understandable" version for western audiences, who likely wouldn't understand the japanese version for beans.

There are many ways that they might alter the details of the basic premise and plot, but these changes will be necessary for the sake of making it acsessable to western audiences. To me, details are not important. I did not cringe in Batman Begins when Bruce Wayne trained under Ra's Al Ghul, who's primary motivation was to cleanse humanity of their corrupt societies rather than cleansing the planet of humanity, because it helped give the movie a smooth-flowing narrative that was understandable, yet still had room for depth and conversation. It's the movie version of Batman, and even though it's different (and some would say "dumbed down") it's still good stuff, and likewise the Evangelion movie will be the "American movie version" versus the "Japanese anime version".

The kind of changes that would tick me off would be like if they made Shinji be 20 years old and named "Sean Isaacs" (and almost completely devoid of angst), made the Angels simply be alien invaders, and eliminated any sort of underlying instrumentality conspiracy, opting for a straightforward "Guy in giant robot must fight the aliens and win" plot. That would not even be Evangelion anymore, and hopefully that's not what they're planning.

 

[TheVileOne]

I don't think think guys will like Shinji though. I personally have a hard time liking Shinji. Unlike the way people wrongfully complain about Tobey Maguire in Spider-man, Shinji truly is a whiny *****. And he's surrouned by his own harem of girls.

The other thing is, would they actually cast Japanese actors as the leads? Or would they dare cast Americans as people like Shinji Ikari?

And some of the material, with the EVA's is kind of twisted . . . that I can't imagine making it into a PG-13 flick.

 

[Timstuff]

Yeah, Shinji really is difficult to like. But that's where good writing will have to come in. Evangelion is very much an emo story, and so was Spider-Man, but in Spider-Man, Peter gives us reasons to like him. Shinji also has potential to be a sympathetic, and even endearing protagonist, but we never see his reedeming qualities except that he pilots an Eva (an in the show, that is really an implication that he has none and is compensating). And yeah, he's surrounded by chicks.

As for the actors, I think that Shinji's race isn't entirely relevant. They could probably more easily cast him as a caucasian and say he's half Japanese than they could find an asian actor who would be able to fit it perfectly (he needs to speak perfect english, be good looking, and act well ontop of it), but if they can find a good asian kid to play him, that's dandy as well. I don't really think it matters that much. As for the supporting cast, the only character who I think really needs to be asian is Rei. For some reason out of all the characters, I just can't imagine a non-asian actress playing her.

And yeah, they're gonna have to cut some corners to reach a PG-13 rating. But I think we'll be surprised at what they can do without crossing into R-rated territory.

 

[Timstuff]

Judging from this CHUD interview, Richard Taylor from Weta still has passion for bringing NGE to the big screen.

Q: So King Kong was Peter’s dream project since he was a child. Is there a dream project you have?

Taylor: There are many ideas that I would love to one day bring to fruition, but I respectfully put them on the back burner while we develop other people’s ideas. But right now probably my greatest desire is to see Neon Genesis Evangelion come to life. I’ve been working on that nearly four years with ADV, the people who own the rights to the live action film. We’ve traveled to Japan, we’ve met the original creators, we have done development work on it. I believe Evangelion, to the Asian market, could be up there with the Lord of the Rings. Of course the Western market has grown and is ready for this amazing film genre.

Q: What is the current status of that film?

Taylor: I don’t honestly know, but that’s not to say that it won’t happen. Everyone’s intentions is to see it happen. It’s a very, very complex property to bring to the world cinema because of its incredible following. It has to be done, hopefully, with great sensitivity and aesthetically with utter perfection. That requires time and thought.

http://www.chud.com/index.php?type=interviews&id=6261

It's most certainly worth noting that this interview was regarding King Kong, and that Taylor brought up the subject of Evangelion completely on his own, so clearly he's been thinking about it a lot.

 

[TheVileOne]

Yeah, Shinji really is difficult to like. But that's where good writing will have to come in. Evangelion is very much an emo story, and so was Spider-Man, but in Spider-Man, Peter gives us reasons to like him. Shinji also has potential to be a sympathetic, and even endearing protagonist, but we never see his reedeming qualities except that he pilots an Eva (an in the show, that is really an implication that he has none and is compensating). And yeah, he's surrounded by chicks.

Shinji is a little punk and his attitude ticks me off. Peter had problems but he tries to take them in stride and not wallow in them. Shinji never had food or rent problems like Peter did. Never had to worried about getting fired.

As for the actors, I think that Shinji's race isn't entirely relevant. They could probably more easily cast him as a caucasian and say he's half Japanese than they could find an asian actor who would be able to fit it perfectly (he needs to speak perfect english, be good looking, and act well ontop of it), but if they can find a good asian kid to play him, that's dandy as well. I don't really think it matters that much. As for the supporting cast, the only character who I think really needs to be asian is Rei. For some reason out of all the characters, I just can't imagine a non-asian actress playing her.

It is relevant to me since he's NOT half-Japanese. He's full Japanese. Just like Gendo and Misato and a bunch of the other Nerv characters.

You have Asuka who is 3/4 German.

And then you have Rei who is a clone of Shinji's mommy . . . making her Japanese.

And yeah, they're gonna have to cut some corners to reach a PG-13 rating. But I think we'll be surprised at what they can do without crossing into R-rated territory.

And once again, you can't make EVA PG-13 without gutting it.

 

[Timstuff]

Shinji is a little punk and his attitude ticks me off. Peter had problems but he tries to take them in stride and not wallow in them. Shinji never had food or rent problems like Peter did. Never had to worried about getting fired.

Yes, and that's part of what I disliked as Shinji as well. Peter Parker, for all his troubles at least has a spine. Shinji on the other hand, doesn't try to fix his problems and instead selfishly waits for them to fix themselves, and wallowing in his misery rather than confronting it.

It is relevant to me since he's NOT half-Japanese. He's full Japanese. Just like Gendo and Misato and a bunch of the other Nerv characters.

Yeah, I know that. But the problem is, I don't think that they're going to bite for a big-budget summer blockbuster with an almost entirely asian cast.

You have Asuka who is 3/4 German.

German = white person, and there are plenty of them avalible. I doubt anyone would notice if the actress wasn't actually German, much less 1/4 Japanese (which is irrelevant, anyway).

And then you have Rei who is a clone of Shinji's mommy . . . making her Japanese.

Obviousely Yiu needs to be asian, but she's not exactly a main character which is why I didn't bother mentioning her. Wether or not Shinji's father is asian would depend entirely on who they cast as Shinji.

And once again, you can't make EVA PG-13 without gutting it.

It's going to be less gory, and there will obviousely be less nudity (as in, almost none). But that doesn't mean that it won't still be very violent and deal with mature themes. They'll just have to be less gratuous about it all, and I can accept that.

 

[TheVileOne]

Yeah, I know that. But the problem is, I don't think that they're going to bite for a big-budget summer blockbuster with an almost entirely asian cast.

It wouldn't have to be entirely Asian. Asuka, one of the main characters would not have to be cast as an Asian.

German = white person, and there are plenty of them avalible. I doubt anyone would notice if the actress wasn't actually German, much less 1/4 Japanese (which is irrelevant, anyway).

That's the idea. You can cast someone like that for Asuka. You can't cast a white guy as SHINJI IKARI.

Obviousely Yiu needs to be asian, but she's not exactly a main character which is why I didn't bother mentioning her. Wether or not Shinji's father is asian would depend entirely on who they cast as Shinji.

Gendo Ikari really can't not be Asian. If they do that then they'd have to start changing the character names. And the EVA fans are not going to tolerate that.

It's going to be less gory, and there will obviousely be less nudity (as in, almost none). But that doesn't mean that it won't still be very violent and deal with mature themes. They'll just have to be less gratuous about it all, and I can accept that.

Fans aren't going to tolerate it though.

 

[Timstuff]

Keep in mind that Gendo Ikari changed his surname to match his wife's, so in a live action movie that would be a pretty easy explanation as to why he'd be a white guy with a japanese last name.

 

[TheVileOne]

He's not a white guy though, he's Japanese.

 

[Timstuff]

I know, but in the movie they might change that.

 

[TheVileOne]

That would be stupid.

It would be like turning Frodo into an Elf.

 

[Timstuff]

Yeah, it would be stupid. But brace yourself, because it's likely to happen with at least a few characters.

 

[Addendum]

Brace myself? If a live action Evangelion comes out, I've no intention of seeing it. I'm content with the Anime

 

[Timstuff]

Well, I am personally looking forward to it, even though I expect that there will be changes.

 

[TheVileOne]

Eh well I still think its not happening any time soon.

One thing I would require, the movie opens with Cruel Angel's Thesis and ends with Fly Me To The Moon.

Those songs would have to be the back bone of the score as well.

 

[Addendum]

Sorta like the Hitchhiker's Guide movie opened with a symphonic version of the Eagles' "Journey of the Sorcerer"

 

[Timstuff]

Eh well I still think its not happening any time soon.

One thing I would require, the movie opens with Cruel Angel's Thesis and ends with Fly Me To The Moon.

Those songs would have to be the back bone of the score as well.

LOL, sorry, but after reading the actual lyrics to "Fly me to the moon", it'd be impossible for me to ever take it seriousely in a movie.

http://evangeliontranslation.ytmnd.com/

 

[TheVileOne]

LOL, sorry, but after reading the actual lyrics to "Fly me to the moon", it'd be impossible for me to ever take it seriousely in a movie.

http://evangeliontranslation.ytmnd.com/

Cute. It still needs to be in the movie.

 

[Timstuff]

For me, that song was just a painful little reminder of how little money they had to work with towards the end of the show. I really don't see any reason why they'd want it in the movie.

 

[TheVileOne]

Eh, towards the end? They play it at the end of every episode.

 

[Timstuff]

Gahh, whatever. It's been a long time since I watched the show. o_o